Archie, the anteater of mysterious origin, clings to his mother. Photograph courtesy LEO Zoological Conservation Center
Posted on 05/25/2013 11:16:50 AM PDT by JoeProBono
Who’s Your Daddy?
Archie the giant anteater may have a hard time answering that question. Born to mom Armani at the LEO Zoological Center in Greenwich, Connecticut, Archie seems perfectly normal except for one small detail: Zookeepers have no idea how he came into being.
Armani had previously given birth to a baby named Alice after a romantic rendezvous with Alf, a male anteater also at LEO. But this wasn’t an episode of Leave it to Beaver. Male anteaters are known to kill and eat their offspring, so the zoo’s staff kept Alf separate from Armani and Alice for several months. Before the anteater family was reunited, however, Armani somehow got pregnant with Archie, according to the Connecticut newspaper Greenwich Time.
This pregnancy mystery immediately triggered thoughts of virgin birth, a.k.a. parthenogenesis. Animals conceived via parthenogenesis don’t actually have a father. Instead, the embryo grows and develops in the absence of fertilization. It sounds unusual—some might even say miraculous—but it’s a surprisingly common occurrence in the animal kingdom. Researchers believe that an absence of available males likely drives the phenomenon.
Although a variety of different animals have been found to reproduce via parthenogenesis, it is most common in invertebrates (such as water fleas, parasitic wasps, and bees) and certain types of vertebrates (fish, amphibians, and occasionally birds). Although the exact mechanisms of parthenogenetic reproduction can vary from species to species, all parthenogenesis produces normal, healthy offspring...........
Archie’s Mystery Solved?
Zookeepers at LEO believe that Archie was likely the result of embryonic diapause. Not virgin birth in the strict sense of the phrase, embryonic diapause happens when a mother puts a fertilized egg on hold in her uterus.
If environmental conditions aren’t right, the mother can prevent the fertilized egg from implanting and developing for a long periods of tim. Although the process has never been previously observed in an anteater, researchers have documented it in armadillos, which are closely related to anteaters. (Watch an anteater video.)
If Armani did undergo embryonic diapause, she’s in good company. A paper published last year in PLoS ONE showed that a wide variety of mammals have the potential to use embryonic diapause. Thus while it might look like Armani didn’t need a male to conceive Archie, she actually did. It’s just that zookeepers didn’t catch them in the act.
So the next time “Millionaire Matchmaker” or “The Bachelor” comes on TV, just imagine what kind of programming we could have if animals created shows based on their own reproductive strategies. “No Males Allowed,” anybody?
Archie, the anteater of mysterious origin, clings to his mother. Photograph courtesy LEO Zoological Conservation Center
Virginia Zoo in Norfolk opens anteater exhibit
NORFOLK
Visitors to the Virginia Zoo can now see tamanduas.
So what is a tamandua?
According to a news release, tamanduas are a species of anteater from South America that inhabits both forests and savanna. They are nocturnal creatures that nest in hollow tree trunks or in the abandoned burrows of other animals. Adult tamandua can range from 28 to 62 inches long and weigh from 3 to 19 pounds.
Oh yeah, and they smell. They have a gland at the base of their tail -- think skunk -- that can release a very unpleasant odor to deter predators, the release said.
The Zoo has two tamanduas: a male named Felipito and a female named Grace. Their habitat is in the Zoo’s Exhibit Building.
“Tamanduas are really exotic-looking and the kids love them,” Greg Bockheim, the Zoo’s executive director, said in a prepared statement. “Felipito is really interactive and can often be seen at the habitat’s window, checking out his human visitors.”
Tamanduas feed on ants, termites and bees, the release said. They have long claws they use to break into insect nests, as well as to defend themselves from predators.
While Amazonian natives sometimes use tamanduas to rid their homes of ants and termites, the release joked that the Zoo has no plans to rent out its tamanduas for residential pest control.
Can’t they just do a DNA testing? And I thought that the parthanogensis thingie (sp?) only produced females. Oh, and Archie is adorable.
Is there anywhere in the bible where it says the second coming of Christ has to be in human form?
is there anywhere in the Bible where it says there would be a second vigin birth of the Christ?
I don’t think so.
Does that mean you're not positive?
lol.
Soon we shall build the Church of the Holy AntEater and start communion with chocolate covered ants!
//sarcasm
Ya know, that just might start bringing back more people into the church who left because of the tasteless wafers......
Wait, do people really stop going to church for that? Being a Baptist I only got donuts before Sunday School as a kid
Definitely not going to be in animal form. Plenty of descriptions of Jesus’ Second Coming appearance in Revelation (e.g. 1:16).
This has no connection to humans, but since everything is a symbol in this country, the feminazis will grab it and rejoice - finally, a world without men!
I’m still trying to figure out how the Male Anteater can even eat it’s offspring ... must be one heck of a tongue.
TT
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